Gov. Rick Snyder 'incredibly disappointed' by bridge vote, but will look for ways to resurrect project

Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids PressMalik Shabazz, a member of Unify Detroit Coalition, was among the people opposing the plan to build a second bridge linking Detroit and Canada.

LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder is “incredibly disappointed” by the defeat of a plan to build a second bridge linking Detroit and Canada, but will look for ways to resurrect a project he believes can make Michigan an “economic hub,” his spokeswoman said.

“It's too important for jobs, it's too important for the state,” Snyder communications director Geralyn Lasher said after the $4 billion project died in a state Senate committee when Republicans failed to get enough support from within their own party.

“All these jobs could now end up going through New York, and we risk saying 'good-bye' to Michigan as an economic hub.”

The deal died when two Democratic members of the Senate's Economic Development Committee, Sens. Tupac Hunter and Virgil Smith, both from Detroit, passed on voting after GOP members rejected an amendment allowing provisions boosting the Detroit neighborhood where the span would have been built.

That left three Republican members voting against the plan and two in favor, seeming to surprise the overflow crowd, which included groups bused in from Detroit that engaged in shouting immediately after the meeting.

Snyder has said the $4 billion New International Trade Crossing, would be “critically important” to expanding international trade between the U.S. and Canada. Many Michigan companies, including automakers, want the bridge and its easy access to highways.

Hunter said he was offended that his proposed amendment was being considered “welfare by another name,” and said the Delray neighborhood where the span would originate was being treated like “a forgotten community with people who don't matter.”

Hunter said the plan would have provided protections for the community surrounding the proposed bridge, and that they are comparable to protections given to the Port Huron when the Blue Water Bridge was expanded, and accused Republicans of backing away from an agreement prior to a quickly adjourned meeting on Wednesday.

“Apparently the Republicans fail to understand that acting in a bipartisan manner means living up to your word when agreements are reached,” Hunter said in a release. “While we were focused on crafting sound public policy, the Republicans were simply wasting everyone’s time. In a year that’s seen such rampant partisanship from their side of the aisle, this may mark a new low in the legislative process.”

Sen. Dave Hildenbrand, R-Lowell Township, rejected claims of broken agreements, but said he understood Hunter's concern for the neighborhood and would feel the same way if such a project was in Grand Rapids.

Hansen said he opposed the project because he worried about taxpayer risk if tolls didn't bring as much revenue as projected, especially at a time when traffic is decreasing.

But Hildenbrand said after the meeting that lawmakers looking at current traffic levels have to consider the long-range goal behind the project.
“We're not looking at the next two or three years, but an investment for the next 50 to 75 years,” he said.

Hildenbrand said Canada is the state's largest trade partner, with 60 percent of all state, about $44 billion a year. He said one in seven West Michigan jobs are tied to trade with Canada.

He also said he was satisfied with assurances that the bill shielded taxpayers from financial liability.

Lasher said Republican committee members voting against the plan were probably feeling pressure from voters after “millions and millions of dollars have been spent on advertising to confuse people about this issue.”

She said Snyder still believes in the project and is open to looking at other options.
He'll be pushed by groups including Business Leaders for Michigan, which issued a release saying it was disappointed with the vote.

“It is our hope that, with near unanimous agreement in the business community and backing from the labor unions, state leaders will continue to look for a way to move this important project forward,” said Doug Rothwell, the group's president & CEO.